Cosi, Inc. (NASDAQ:COSI), the fast casual restaurant company,
announced today that, on August 16, 2016, its Chief Financial
Officer, Miguel Rossy-Donovan, submitted his resignation effective
September 23, 2016 to accept the position of CFO at another
company. The Company also announced today that its
Board of Directors has terminated RJ Dourney as Chief Executive
Officer & President, effective immediately. Patrick
Bennett, a member of the Board of Directors, will serve as interim
Chief Executive & President working in close conjunction with
the full Board while the Company conducts a search for a permanent
CEO.
CFO Transition
The Company and Board of Directors has begun the
search to replace its CFO. Over the course of the transition
period, Mr. Rossy-Donovan will be working closely with the Company
and the Board of Directors to ensure the continuity of previously
implemented financial and cash management systems, and the
implementation of operating priorities required to facilitate the
execution of the next phase of the Company’s strategic
plan.
Mark Demilio, the Company’s Chairman of the
Board, said, “Miguel has been instrumental in working with
management and the Board of Directors to instill discipline to the
execution of our most immediate needs to drive the momentum of the
Company’s turnaround. We are saddened about his departure and wish
him the best as he embarks on a different path. We appreciate
that Miguel has agreed to a period of transition and are excited
about the role he will play during this time in ensuring we are
well-positioned to execute our strategy.”
Mr. Rossy-Donovan added, “I am proud of having
successfully led, in close partnership with the leadership team,
the efforts to position the Company to generate cash, to build
strategic discipline and focus, and to foster an entrepreneurial
culture with people at the center.”
“It is important to me that my decision does not
distract the team, slow down the progress we have made, or
interfere with the successful implementation of our most immediate
priorities. I am thrilled to have the time, resources, and support
to ensure we stay on-course during the transition,” Rossy-Donovan
went on to say.
Appointment of Interim CEO
The Board of Directors also will immediately
begin the search to replace its Chief Executive Officer and
President. Mr. Bennett will serve as interim Chief Executive
Officer & President until the selection process is
complete. He has extensive experience working with distressed
companies and building high-performance executive teams focused on
delivering significantly improved results in complex and
challenging business environments, in both public and private
companies. Bennett also has experience in developing and executing
growth strategies and multi-faceted strategic plans to improve
market share, gross revenue and profitability. That experience,
together with his substantial experience in dealing with financial
markets and regulated industries, provides valuable perspective on
strategic planning, growth initiatives and the challenges of our
business.
During the transition, Mr. Bennett will work
closely with the Company’s Board of Directors, who will continue to
be actively involved and provide assistance to management as the
Company continues to focus on its turnaround strategy.
“During this transition period, we are fortunate
to have an executive with the skills and experience that Pat brings
to Cosi. We believe his background and experience, together
with the deep industry experience of fellow directors Jean Birch
and David Lloyd, and the experience and contributions of all Board
members, will be valuable during this transition, and that together
we will bring a fresh perspective as the Company continues to focus
on recapitalizing its balance sheet and building a stable
foundation for the business going into fiscal 2017,” said
Demilio.
About Così, Inc.Così (http://www.getcosi.com)
is an international fast casual restaurant company. At the
heart of every Cosi® restaurant is an open-flame stone-hearth oven
where the Così® signature flatbread is made from scratch throughout
the day. The flatbread is made from a generations-old recipe
and is part of many Così® favorites. Così® was founded on the idea
that good-for-you food should be delicious. Menu items are
made using fresh ingredients and distinctive sauces and spreads to
create edgy flavors. The menu features made-to-order
sandwiches, hand-tossed salads, bowls, breakfast wraps, melts, all
natural soups, signature Squagels®, artisan flatbread pizzas,
S`mores, snacks and desserts. Guests can also enjoy
handcrafted beverages and a variety of coffee-based and specialty
beverages.
Così® employees create a welcoming environment
where guests are invited to relax and enjoy great food. In
many cases, Così® is the cornerstone of the communities that they
are in and take pride in supporting community organizations and
local charities. There are currently 74 Company-owned and 31
franchise restaurants operating in sixteen states, the District of
Columbia, Costa Rica and the United Arab Emirates.
"Così," "(Sun & Moon Design)" and related
marks are registered trademarks of Così, Inc. in the U.S.A. and
certain other countries. Copyright © 2015 Così, Inc. All rights
reserved.
"SAFE HARBOR" STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE
SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995. This press release
contains statements that constitute forward- looking statements
under the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are
statements about future events and expectations and not statements
of historical fact. The words "believe," "may," "will," "should,"
"anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "objective," "seek,"
"plan," "strive," or similar words, or negatives of these words,
identify forward- looking statements. We qualify any
forward-looking statements entirely by these cautionary factors.
Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs,
assumptions and expectations of our future economic performance,
taking into account the information currently available to
management. Forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or
financial condition to differ materially from the expectations of
future results, performance or financial condition we express or
imply in any forward-looking statements. Factors that could
contribute to these differences include, but are not limited to:
the results being reported in this release are unaudited and
subject to change; the cost of our principal food products and
supply and delivery shortages and interruptions; labor shortages or
increased labor costs; changes in demographic trends and consumer
tastes and preferences, including changes resulting from concerns
over nutritional or safety aspects of beef, poultry, produce, or
other foods or the effects of food-borne illnesses, such as E.
coli, "mad cow disease" and avian influenza or "bird flu";
competition in our markets, both in our business and in locating
suitable restaurant sites; our operation and execution in new and
existing markets; expansion into new markets including foreign
markets; our ability to attract and retain qualified franchisees
and our franchisees' ability to open restaurants on a timely basis;
our ability to locate suitable restaurant sites in new and existing
markets and negotiate acceptable lease terms; the rate of our
internal growth and our ability to generate increased revenue from
our existing restaurants; our ability to generate positive cash
flow from existing and new restaurants; fluctuations in our
quarterly results due to seasonality; increased government
regulation and our ability to secure required government approvals
and permits; our ability to create customer awareness of our
restaurants in new markets; the reliability of our customer and
market studies; cost effective and timely planning, design and
build out of restaurants; our ability to recruit, train and retain
qualified corporate and restaurant personnel and management; market
saturation due to new restaurant openings; inadequate protection of
our intellectual property; our ability to obtain additional capital
and financing; adverse weather conditions which impact customer
traffic at our restaurants; and adverse economic conditions.
Further information regarding factors that could affect our results
and the statements made herein are included in our filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
Additional information is available on Così's
website athttp://www.getcosi.com in the investor relations
section.
CONTACT:
InvestorRelations@getcosi.com
Vicki Baue
V. P. & General Counsel, CCO
(857) 415-5000